The Dead Walking

(You all know the story of the Walking Dead. This is a different version of the walking dead.) I lost my family at the beginning. Been alone ever since. Till one day I stumble across a group. A group that changes my life. My name is Isabella, but I prefer Izzy. I wish I could say I am the same person as I was a year ago, but that would be a lie. I wish I could say walkers are the only things I have killed. I wish I could say a lot of things, but none of them would be true.

19. Death Can Never Be Avoided, Just Escaped

Evening arrives, but I have nothing to be afraid of now. I am safe. I walk outside of the building that contains my room and out to the big field with barely living crops. The zombies destroyed a lot of the plants when they attacked, but the few that remained is enough. They already have the fence back up, but it is not as strong as before. Someone has to be guarding it all the time now which I don't think is such a bad thing. I want so badly for Carl's sister to be alive, but in this world that can never be guaranteed.

I learned that I didn't miss a lot while I was out in my semi coma. We made our way back here because we had nowhere else to go and that Carl carried me. That is something that surprised me. Me and Carl are the same size and I know I'm skinny, but I weigh enough that it would be difficult to hold me. I also learned that we found Charolette's dad who had apparently went out on a hunting trip, but got caught in a house because zombies were after him. He doesn't seem like a very brave man.

I stand in the middle of the field. Most of the crops are good here. I look around to make sure no one is near me. No one. I turn so I am in the middle of a path and do a cartwheel. Its been so long since I did gymnastics. It feels good to stretch my muscles like this. I do a back bend and kick over so I am standing. I do a handstand and hold it for a few minutes until I lose my balance. I sigh and walk out of the field. I walk along the big fence and look out at long stretch of land that leads to the woods. I wonder where the zombies went. The woods? Another camp? They could be anywhere.

I turn around and head back to my room. It takes me a minute to reach it. I look in Carl's room as I pass. He's not there. I farther along the hall to my room and see him sitting on my bed. When I walk in he stands up fast with a worried look. "Whats wrong?" I ask.

"Someone got in here. They're hiding somewhere. My dad thinks he's from that group that attacked us. We have to stay in here," he explains quickly.

"Really? But cant they get us in here?"

"Yeah, but my dad wants us to stay put."

"What if they find us? What do we do then?" I ask.

"Lets just hope they don't because I don't know. Shoot them I guess," he shrugs.

I nod like it doesn't bother me, but I can feel something in my gut. Something that's telling me we aren't safe. With my luck he'll find us. I would almost bet on it. "I don't think we are safe here. Something feels... wrong," I try to explain it, but I cant.

"I know Izzy, but we don't have anywhere else to," he stands up and brings me in a hug. I look over his shoulder at my door. I know whats about to happen before it happens. Of course its going to happen. That's the way things work. I shut my eyes at the sound of footsteps approaching my door. I open them for a split second. I see a man that looks a lot like the others we saw when they attacked us. Just like the one that almost choked me to death. I gulp at the thought. "I'm going to distract him Izzy. You have to run. Go get help," he whispers fiercely in my ear.

He pulls away an positions himself in front of my body. The man is holding a gun right at his head. I cant let Carl die. That is something I cant let happen. The man smiles and I want to hit him. Man do I want to hit him. "I think you guys know why I'm here. Don't ya?" he sneers. "I mean you did kill 10 of my group members," he says sarcastically.

"Yeah I do," Carl snaps. "But your "group members" also attacked us so we had a reason to," he says back with equal sarcasm.

Shut up Carl! You're gonna get yourself killed! I want to scream this at him, but I know it will only bring more trouble. "Hey! Don't get an attitude with me!" he yells.

Carl doesn't respond for a moment. Then I see what he about to do. He is preparing to jump. This is his distraction. He's going to get the man to shoot at him and while he's distracted I'm supposed to run. That's what I'm supposed to do. But I'm not going to. He jumps in the air and heads toward the left side of the man. I jump too. I hold carl to me and let my body shield him. The bullet shoots out of the gun and strikes me, but I'm not sure where. It hurts. It feels like I am being shot a thousand times over again by little needles. I hit the ground and Carl lays lands beside me. I only see him for a minute. His eyes are horrified and I see pain in them too. I try to guard my expression so he doesn't know how much pain I'm in. I hear another shot, but this time I know it wasn't at me. It was at that man. Someone grabs Carl and pulls him away. He grabs my hand, but... his dad I think pulls him away. "NOOOO!!!" I just barely hear him scream. My vision goes black but I don't remember closing my eyes.

I don't know if I'm dying. All I know is Carl is alive. I saved him. I took a bullet for him. I guess its okay if I'm dying. You can never avoid death, just escape it. I just helped Carl escape it. I wish I knew where the bullet hit me. I know it wasn't the head though because I don't feel any blood on my face. Then again I don't feel anything. The pain is gone. I feel more like I am floating. Floating away. I don't want to float away! I try to fight against it, but the force is to strong. It pulls me in and soon I am engulfed by darkness.

Cliff hanger!!! You'll have to wait till the chapter find out if she is dead. Comment what you think about the book so far and don't forget to LIKE this book. Thank yasssss!!!